BA (Hons) in Chinese and Bilingual Studies (BACBS)

• Programme Code:	72018
  Mode:	Full-Time
  Duration:	Normally 3 years but six years maximum
  No. of Credits Required:	A minimum of 97 credits (including training credits)
  Student Intake:	55

• Programme Aims

  The programme aims to produce well-educated graduates with a high level of competence in biliteracy and trilingualism, emphasizing on applied Chinese language studies, Chinese society and Chinese culture, a sound understanding of the theoretical disciplines underlying language studies and the integrated use of the languages concerned, and the ability to apply their knowledge and skills practically in a variety of business and management contexts. The programme addresses all of the generic attributes specified in PolyU's Strategic Objective 1.1, with special emphasis on critical and creative thinking, global outlook, cultural appreciation, leadership, social and national responsibility and lifelong learning.

• Programme Outcomes

  On successful completion of the programme, graduating students:
  
  

  Category A - Professional/academic knowledge and skills

  1. will have a firm grounding in Chinese and bilingual studies which can be critically and creatively applied in a variety of professional contexts, such as business, public relation and management;
  2. will have an awareness and understanding of intercultural communication in bilingual settings that enhances their global outlook and cultural appreciation;
  3. will have a good understanding of professional communication in the modern workplace;
  4. will have a comprehensive understanding of the language situation in Hong Kong and the rest of China;
  5. will be highly valued for their biliteracy and trilingualism ability; and
  6. will be well adapted to the Hong Kong society and its linguistic situation to provide service in a professional way.
  
  

  Category B - Attributes for all-roundedness

  1. will be capable of exercising judgment and developing intellectual curiosity necessary to work both independently and as part of a team;
  2. will be committed to lifelong learning;
  3. will have enhanced their sense of social and national responsibility;
  4. will be aware of the benefits afforded by information technology both to their studies and their future careers; and
  5. will have the potential to become future leaders and entrepreneurs excelling in communication for professional purposes.

• Minimum Entrance Requirements:

  • HKALE Grade D in Chinese Literature or HKALE (AS-level) Grade D in Chinese Language & Culture; and
  • HKALE (AS-level) Grade D in Use of English.
  • HKALE Grade E in two other subjects, or HKALE Grade E in one other subject and HKALE (AS-level) Grade E in two other subjects; and
  • HKCEE Grade E in five subjects
  
  Applicants who possess a Higher Diploma/Associate Degree in a language-related discipline may be considered for entry to Year 2 of the programme.

• Admission Information:

  In addition to Chinese Literature, Chinese Language and Culture and Use of English, we also give preference in our admissions selection to the following HKALE/HKALE(AS-Level) subject(s):
  • Applied Mathematics;
  • Biology;
  • Business Studies;
  • Chemistry;
  • Chinese History;
  • Computer Studies/Computer Applications;
  • Economics;
  • English Literature;
  • Geography;
  • Government & Public Affairs;
  • History;
  • Liberal Studies;
  • Physics;
  • Principles of Accounts;
  • Psychology; and
  • Pure Mathematics/Mathematics & Statistics.

• Programme Officers:

  Programme Leader:
  Prof Daniel So
  Email: ctdaniel@polyu.edu.hk
  Tel: 2766-7538

  
  

  Deputy Programme Leader:
  Dr Li Dechao
  Email: ctdechao@inet.polyu.edu.hk
  Tel: 2766-7458

• Curriculum:

  The curriculum consists of (1) compulsory and (2) elective subjects. Students are expected to initiate their studies with the first group of subjects as shown in Table 1 and accumulate the 55 academic credits and three training credits concerned as soon as possible. All subjects of this programme carry three academic credits except for the GE subjects which carry two credits each and the WIE which carries three training credits.
  
  Students may at the beginning of the second semester of their studies consider choosing one of the following three pathways to complete their studies:
  
  The Single Degree Pathway. The BACBS award requires the accumulation of a minimum of 97 relevant credits. To qualify for the award, in addition to the 58 credits, students may accumulate another 39 academic credits by completing either (1) 13 elective subjects listed in Tables 2 and 3. Or (2) no more than five subjects from those listed in Table 4, in addition to the necessary number of subjects listed in Tables 2 and 3.
  
  The Major & Minor Pathway. The BACBS award with a Major in CBS & a Minor in a chosen area requires the accumulation of a minimum of 97 relevant credits out of which respectively 66 and 18 should be relevant to the Major and the Minor concerned. To qualify for this award, in addition to the 58 credits out of which 45 are relevant to the CBS major, students may accumulate respectively 21 credits by completing seven CBS elective subjects listed in Table 2, and 18 credits by completing six relevant subjects listed in Table 3 OR in any Minor programmes offered by OTHER departments at PolyU.
  
  The Double Majors Pathway. The BACBS award with Double Majors in CBS & ENGL requires the accumulation of a minimum of 139 relevant credits. To qualify for the award, in addition to the 58 credits, students may accumulate respectively 21 credits by completing seven CBS elective subjects listed in Table 2, a minimum of 24 credits by completing eight elective subjects offered by ENGL listed in Table 4, a maximum of 36 credits subscribed on a self-financed basis in the additional year by completing 12 subjects offered by ENGL.
  
  Table 1: Compulsory Subjects
  
  

  Subject Code	Subject Title	No of Credits
  Part A: CBS subjects (including the WIE subject)
  CBS290	Academic and Technical Chinese Writing	3
  This subject provides students with trainings in integrating information from background texts that involves reading, summarizing ideas, and finally reaching the stage of synthesis in a required format for target readers. It also trains students to present their intended message or argument in clear language in terms of accuracy, coherence, preciseness, and accessibility, to a broad array of readers. In order to cope with the requirement of technical writing, it provides students with specific usage of words, phrases, and sentence patterns that are used in particular professions.
  CBS291	Putonghua for Professional Communication	3
  Built on the students’ Putonghua foundation, this subject aims to enhance students’ communication skills in Putonghua in professional context, with special attention to the domain of business and other workplaces. Students are trained to master the key features of Putonghua in terms of pronunciation and common ways of expression; to communicate efficiently in Putonghua with accuracy and fluency; to perform a series of communicative tasks in the business context; and to adopt appropriate pragmatic devices underlying business communication in China
  CBS292	Structure of Modern Chinese	3
  This subject aims to describe lexical items, phrases and sentence types of Standard Chinese in a systematic way. Another purpose is to provide students with the necessary critical analytical skills to detect Chinese forms, especially in written genres, that are not regularly used and collocations that do not reflect normal logic. Lastly, this subject seeks to enable students to apply the subject knowledge and generic skills learned in this subject to other subjects on the programme and in their future career.
  CBS293	Classical Chinese	3
  This subject enables students to acquire reading ability in Classical Chinese. It adopts the principled, systematic approach devised by Wang Li (王力) and his team at Peking University to the acquisition of Classical Chinese on the part of undergraduate students. The essence of this approach is the division of teaching materials into three parts, namely (1) texts, (2) basic vocabulary, and (3) relevant knowledge, with a strong sense of striking a balance between maximizing the utility of each of these three parts and integrating the three as far as practicable. Another feature of this approach is the historical sense of holding the pre-Qin texts to be exemplary but at the same time identifying new developments of the language throughout the years.
  CBS294	Applied Pronunciation Studies	3
  This subject serves to activate the phonetic awareness of students and introduce them to the sounds of Cantonese, Putonghua and English. Transcription tools, including the International Phonetic Alphabet, Romanization systems, and the traditional fanqie (�切), will be introduced. Basic concepts in the analysis of speech sounds will be discussed. The subject will enhance students’ pronunciation of their non-native languages, especially Putonghua and English.
  CBS295	Introduction to Translation	3
  This subject will introduce students to translation theories and techniques that are pertinent to the translation of Chinese and English texts which do not require technical or professional knowledge. Through guided discussions and translation practice, it will orient students to basic standards of general language translation and equip students with the knowledge and skills applicable to translation tasks. Students will also be able to develop an awareness of the nature and function of both the Chinese and English languages, identify the basic translation problems in relation to syntax, lexis and cultural issues and learn how to solve these problems.
  CBS297	Individual & Societal Bilingualism	3
  This subject provides students with a foundation for their study of language and communication by equipping them with a basic understanding of individual and societal bilingualism in both international and local contexts. Specifically the subject attempts to instil among students: a good understanding of the formative factors and consequences of these two forms of bilingualism, a global outlook about language-related phenomena vis-à-vis monolingual vs. bilingual norms, a good level of literacy in norms of communication among bilingual individuals and in bilingual environments, and an awareness of between-culture variation vis-à-vis sociolinguistic etiquette. In this connection, students are introduced to basic concepts pertaining to the analysis and interpretation of the development of global multilingualism and individual bilingualism, as well as the bilingual use of language to achieve effective communication.
  CBS299	Work Integrated Education	3
  CBS303	Linguistic Meaning and Contextual Use	3
  This subject builds on knowledge about language structures acquired in Structures of Modern Chinese and English and aims at acquainting the students with the key concepts related to meaning: its types, its composition into layers of meaning units and their characteristics, and its variations in contexts. It will also discuss strategies of language use in different professional contexts, so that students can learn how to apply the concepts and procedures to their actual communicative practices.
  CBS296	Introduction to Interpreting	3
  This subject is designed to provide students with an introduction to basic concepts and fundamental skills, the history of interpreting, and its recent development as a profession. It furnishes students with a theoretical basis and a solid foundation for the acquisition of more advanced interpreting techniques. This subject aims at helping students acquire skills and strategies essential to performing interpreting and explore solutions to problems involved in decoding and encoding messages in the interpreting process. Students will be asked to practice interpreting from English into Chinese (Cantonese and/ or Mandarin) and from Chinese (Cantonese and/ or Mandarin) into English.
  CBS298	Symbolic Communication across Languages	3
  This subject provides students with a foundation for their study of language and communication by equipping them with a basic understanding of the roles played by signs in human communication. Three categories of signs will be covered: (1) cultural (including kinesic) signs, (2) linguistic signs (i.e. phonetic and written words) and(3) natural signs. The delivery will focus on sign analysis using conceptual resources from semiotic/semiology and psychology of communication , common signs used in artefacts of various levels of sophistication in Anglo-European and Chinese cultures with special reference to between-culture and within-culture variations and the advantages and pitfalls of such use across mediums and languages.
  CBS329	Chinese Cultural Traditions	3
  This subject aims to provide students with a general knowledge of Chinese culture covering religion, philosophy, language, and other culture practices. Emphasis will be put on Neo-Confucianism and Buddhism (i.e. The Tang Dynasty and after). Cultural contacts of the East and the West will be introduced. Ideological confrontations that caused cultural crisis in twentieth century China will also be examined.
  CBS330	Contrastive Analysis of Chinese & English	3
  This subject provides students with an overview of the basic principles of contrastive analysis and the linguistic differences between Chinese and English by making use of everyday examples so that they can apply the subject knowledge and analytical skills to solve linguistic problems in these two languages they may encounter in the workplace. This subject will also contribute to the development of critical thinking, global outlook and cultural appreciation, and intellectual curiosity to work both independently and as part of a team.
  CBS371	Chinese for Business & Administration	3
  This subject intends to equip the students with skills and knowledge in using modern Chinese to carry out workplace duties of business and administration in three major aspects: the procedural genres and common usages involved in the process of dealing with business, the linguistic features of Chinese texts for institutional/administrative actions, and the appropriate style of Chinese expressions for public communication. By the end of the training, students are expected to have acquired a pragmatic competence of using Chinese in the business world.
  CBS372	Chinese for the Multimedia	3
  This subject provides students with presentation skills needed in the multimedia field and media industry. It covers the preparation of a range of multimedia productions, such as news reports, advertisements, verse for songs, computer game scripts, television show scripts, talk show scripts or talking points, and negotiation outline or talking points. Examples of actual multimedia presentations will be analyzed and will be used as the basis for exercises.
  CBS373	Varieties of Written Chinese	3
  This subject aims to help students to apply their linguistic knowledge to solve problem in language use. With the biliterate trilingualism situation in Hong Kong as the background, students will study language use in Hong Kong mass media and examine the vocabulary, the sentence pattern and the discourse of Hong Kong written Chinese. They will also trace the formation of Hong Kong written Chinese and the role of English-Chinese translation in that process.
  Part B: ENGL subjects
  ENGL216	English for Academic Communication	3
  This subject is an English proficiency course to explicitly focus on developing students’ language skills and general abilities in listening and speaking within the context of English for academic purposes (EAP). The subject is aimed at enabling students to communicate more fluently and confidently in English with each other as well as with other users of English such as lecturers and fellow students in an academic setting. Students will be given practice in developing both general and specific aspects of listening and speaking related to EAP such as taking lecture notes and giving academic oral presentations. The subject further focuses on encouraging students to take responsibility for their own language learning.
  ENGL217-2	English for Advanced Academic Writing	3
  This is an English proficiency subject which explicitly focuses on developing students’ academic writing skills. It aims to develop students’ advanced literacy skills and a critical understanding of the nature and function of academic discourse in the context of research reports. Students will learn to construct texts that deal with supporting or conflicting points of views on issues of academic and research interest. The subject will provide training in critical reading skills, note-taking skills and academic writing skills. It will also help the students to do knowledge and information search, to write academic research report and to do graphic / statistical data analysis and presentation.
  Part C: General Education subjects
  	Broadening GE Subject	2
  	China Studies	2

  
  
  Table 2: Elective Subjects (according to areas, excluding Japanese within CBS)
  
  

  Subject Code	Subject Title	No of Credits
  Corporate Communication
  CBS374	Bilingual Workshop for Verbal & Non-verbal Communication	3
  In the corporate world of Greater China often messages are addressed to audiences of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, as well as audiences of a different linguistic and cultural mix. This elective workshop prepares students for the common corporate practice of delivering verbal messages on identical topics to such audiences in the region with appropriate verbal and non-verbal norms. Through a process of practice, review and feedback, students will acquire a better awareness of the within-culture and between-culture variations in verbal and non-verbal communicative norms in Greater China and in its international cities respectively, and develop the necessary skills in addressing different audiences in the region with appropriate norms and without inappropriate inter-cultural, inter-lingual transfers.
  CBS375	Bilingual Workshop for Parallel Text Drafting	3
  Parallel text drafting (PTD) refers to the drafting of a message on an identical topic for target readers of different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In the corporate world of Hong Kong, it is common that the same message has to be presented to readers who are Chinese monoglots, English monoglots and/or Chinese-English bilinguals. The term “parallel� highlights the fact that the Chinese (including Chinese varieties) and English versions serve similar functions, and that the final drafts are not products of direct translation since parallel text drafting does not involve the process of translating from “original� texts. This subject aims to familiar students with major corporate communication tasks for promoting corporate image, strengthening its positioning, and projecting its commitment to good corporate citizenship. It provides students with opportunities to analyse authentic written samples obtained from global corporations operating in Greater China, and to practice an integrated and appropriate use of Chinese and English for communication tasks such as drafting newsletters, news release and promotional texts.
  CBS376	Functions of Corporate Communication	3
  This subject is designed for prospective professionals in corporate communication (CC) with reference to 1: The HKSAR is moving from a goods–based to a service– and knowledge–based economy that derives its strength from being a conduit between the Chinese mainland and The West, and 2: globalisation is expanding the arena in which all corporations must compete, resulting in a greater premium being placed on the ability of a corporation to achieve global reach and local relevance at the same time. For CC professionals in Hong Kong, therefore, in order to make a maximum contribution to critical business objectives, not only do they have to have a good knowledge of major corporate communication functions, they also have to have a good understanding of within-culture and between-culture variation in communication norms, and context-driven variation in the interpretation of meaning of linguistic/non-linguistic signs. This subject aims to enhance students’ understanding of these topics to prepare them for a career in corporate communication.
  CBS402	Bilingual Workshop for Internal Corporate Communication	3
  For Corporate Communication professionals in Hong Kong, it is a common practice that the same message has to be presented in the appropriate language to readers and/or audiences who are either Chinese monoglots, or English monoglots, or Chinese-English bilinguals. This subject is one of the four in the Bilingual Communication Workshop series that attempts to prepare students for this mode of communication in the workplace, with a focus on written communication. It has its primary purpose, vis-à-vis the other three subjects, in developing students’ appreciation of respectively within-culture and between-culture variation in communicative norms in the corporate context of Greater China particularly, as well as providing them with a quasi-workplace environment in the form of a workshop to put to practice observations that appropriateness in linguistic usage is culture-bound, that communicative norms vary across recipient types, that negative-transfer of lexical, discourse and syntactic styles will occur if such variations are not observed.
  CBS403	Bilingual Workshop for External Corporate Communication	3
  For Corporate Communication professionals in Hong Kong, it is a common practice that the same message has to be presented in the appropriate language to readers and/or audiences who are either Chinese monoglots, or English monoglots, or Chinese-English bilinguals. This subject is one of the four in the Bilingual Communication Workshop series that attempts to prepare students for this mode of communication in the workplace, with a focus on oral communication. It has its primary purpose, vis-à-vis the other three subjects, in developing students’ appreciation of respectively within-culture and between-culture variation in communicative norms in the corporate context of Greater China particularly, as well as providing them with a quasi-workplace environment in the form of a workshop to put to practice observations that appropriateness in linguistic usage is culture-bound, that communicative norms vary across recipient types, that negative-transfer of lexical, discourse and syntactic styles will occur if such variations are not observed.
  CBS404	Persuasive Communication in Greater China	3
  This subject focuses on media systems and media relations management that are relevant to corporate communication in Greater China. Policies and practices of language and communication in addition to systems and norms of effective communication in the pluralistic Greater China will be introduced, with the aim to equip students with the knowledge that is essential for interpreting, evaluating and designing corporate communication materials related to media relations and management in the region
  CBS405	Glocalization & Corporate Communication	3
  This subject builds upon Functions of Corporate Communication and has its focus on the kinds of contribution that Corporate Communication professionals are able to make to enhance the ability of a corporation to achieve global reach and local relevance. Specifically delivery will be mainly based on case studies of corporations that are successful as well as those that are not so successful in projecting both global identity and local relevance with general reference to their corporate culture and ideology vis-à-vis overseas marketing strategies, and special reference to the use of corporate names, corporate logos, corporate slogans, corporate-story, in-house language policy and other sign-based, &/or language-mediated narratives. The selection of cases for study will also be based on those that facilitates the demonstration of the significance of a cross-lingual perspective in the analysis.
  CBS406	Cultural Signs & Corporate Communication	3
  This subject builds upon Functions of Corporate Communication and is conceived and designed especially for prospective professionals in Corporate Communication with reference to respectively two developments that greatly affect the conduct and future of the industry worldwide: (1) The trend of incorporating re-naming the corporate title as part of a corporation’s attempt to improve its image and/or to re-structure/re-invent itself. (2) The trend of branding not just corporate product and services, but also corporations, cities and countries. The subject aims to develop among students: (1) a literacy in the use of culture signs in general and (2) an understanding of their use in achieving corporate re-branding, and the branding of cities and countries in particular. Delivery of the subject matter related to the second objective will be mainly based on case studies. A cross-lingual perspective will be employed in the selection and analyses of the case studies
  Translation
  CBS377	Translation for Business & Commerce	3
  This subject aims to broaden students' knowledge of business and commerce in the context of Hong Kong, familiarize students with the conventions and characteristics of various types of business communication, and equip them with the skills for translating different kinds of business texts. Through critical analysis of translated business texts, students will be increasingly aware of the differences between Chinese and English business communication in terms of format, organisation, style, syntax and diction. Students will then develop the ability to adopt the appropriate strategies to translate various business texts and utilize different resources to solve translation problems.
  CBS378	Translation for the Media	3
  This subject is to familiarize students with the register and discourse characteristics of the relevant language variety in both English and Chinese media, and to develop and reinforce the skills and techniques required for their translation for the mass media. Specifically, the subject is intended to train students in translating international and local news, magazine articles, promotions and advertisements in print format. They will also learn the principles, techniques and procedures for subtitling translation for TV news or documentary films. Emphasis will be laid upon the development of students’ creativities and problem-solving abilities in tackling new forms of translation involving mass media.
  CBS379	Consecutive Interpreting	3
  Students will be taught to master special skills pertinent to consecutive interpretation such as active listening and note-taking skills through practizing under teacher’s supervision and doing specially designed self-access interpretation assignments in the language laboratory. They will be asked to research on interpreting assignments that cover a variety of topics on current local and international issues. There will be use of and compilation of specific terminology for specialized subject areas. Students will have to practice interpreting in the CI mode from English to Chinese (Cantonese and Putonghua) and Chinese (Cantonese and Putonghua) to English. Additionally, they will be guided to develop self-evaluation and peer-evaluation skills through class discussion.
  CBS407	Translation Studies	3
  This subject aims to produce students who understand the factors involved in communication across two languages; who have an awareness of the different levels of meaning in a text; who can use this awareness to evaluate both source texts and their translations; who have an awareness of basic issues concerning translation as a profession. It will also assist students to examine texts and analyze the linguistic and socio-linguistic issues underlying communication across cultures.
  CBS408	Translation for Science & Technology	3
  The course aims to broaden students' knowledge base of sciences, cultivate their interest in understanding scientific genre, and build up their confidence in translating scientific and technical documents mainly from English into Chinese. More specifically, it aims at helping students apply general translation theories, established rules and useful techniques to the translation of typical writings of scientific and technological topics so as to prepare them for written communicative challenges in today’s globalization and localization process.
  CBS409	Translation for Legal Work	3
  This course handles one of the most complex genres in translation field. It intends to initiate students in the scope and functions of Chinese-English and English-Chinese translation in the Hong Kong legal framework; acquaint them with terminology, concepts, formats, and styles usually employed in common legal writings; help them identify the legal meaning of common words in legal context; enable them to understand characteristics of legal language; familiarize them with and help them to grasp the essential principles, established rules and useful methods and techniques for legal translation, and enable them to generate acceptable translations in actual legal procedures in the local bilingual setting.
  CBS412	Translation of Chinese Literature and Thought	3
  This subject aims to introduce and explore topics in the translation of both pre-modern and modern Chinese literature. This will include problems in both synchronous and diachronous translation, including those associated with source language comprehension, awareness of source culture and source/target cultural issues, as well as the problem of producing literary quality in L2. Attention will be given to problems specifically associated with the comprehension and translation of Literary Chinese texts, and strategies will be explored for the translation of Chinese literature, with an emphasis on poetry and philosophy. There will be discussion of how pre-modern Chinese people thought, and how Chinese literature can be transmitted in English.
  CBS413	Simultaneous Interpreting	3
  This subject provides students with an understanding of the nature of simultaneous interpreting as a profession and equips them with the basic skills of interpreting between Chinese (Cantonese and/ or Mandarin) and English through intensive laboratory practice. It aims at helping students overcome the difficulty of speaking while listening and acquire the ability to concentrate while dividing attention. Students will learn strategies and skills to reconstruct target language and overcome difficulties caused by word orders in the source language. Students will be exposed to a wide range of situational uses of simultaneous interpreting on formal and informal occasions.
  CBS414	Translation Project	6
  Language, Literature and IT
  CBS307	Great Works in Chinese Literature	3
  This subject introduces the essence of Chinese literary works through selected excerpts from Chinese literature and literary works of other domains such schools of thought, history, and language. The works will be delivered alongside Chinese history from Pre-Qin period to late Qing dynasty, representing in a wide range of genres such as prose, biography, preface, fiction, poetry, drama, for a comprehensive overview of major works in classical Chinese literature.
  CBS308	Comparative Literature	3
  The subject is designed as a comparison between Chinese literature and western literature from the point of view of cultural backgrounds. It emphasizes cultural understanding such as the relation between literature and the philosophical enquiries in cultural history; the ethical attitude of a nation and its impact on the function of literature; the influence of religion on literature; and the political implication in the history of literature. Then attentions will be paid to literary works such as the forms of poetry, fiction, drama, prose; balance between emotion and expression; and the notion of “beauty� in its aesthetical sense of a culture.
  CBS309	Contemporary Chinese Society through Literature	3
  This subject surveys representative works of current Chinese literature, especially those influential works published in the 1990’s and in the new millennium, as well as the newly emergent medium of internet creative writings. It attempts to examine the transitions, developments, and liberalizations of the themes and crafts of literary creations in the Chinese political, social, and ideological contexts. Theoretical issues will also be sketchily covered, especially from the vogue perspective of Chinese cultural studies. Besides being a subject critical appreciation of literary works, the subject also aims at familiarizing the students with the current Chinese situations as reflected through literature works.
  CBS310	IT Application for Academic Purposes	3
  This subject focuses on the application of computer Information Technology (IT) to Chinese and English academic activities, aiming at achieving higher efficiency in reading, writing, translation and research. Students will be able to take advantage of the rich information resources and advanced tools of e-dictionaries, e-encyclopedias, e-books, e-journals, corpora, concordances, translation memories, terminology management, Web search engines, meta search engines, machine-aided translation, machine-aided writing and editing, style defining and format copying, as well as software localization and globalization. In addition to making effective use of the existing tools, students will be able to develop simple software tools of their own to further support language communication and application.
  Linguistics
  CBS415	Language & Society	3
  The purpose of this subject is to help the student learn four fundamental things about language: that language is first and foremost a social phenomenon that is embedded in its social context; second, that any two people who think of themselves as speaking the same language do not have the same knowledge of that language; third, that every language is characterized by variation in which speakers have available two or more ways to say the same thing; and fourth, that language is like a mirror in which linguistic differences among speakers reflect their social differences.
  CBS416	Analysis of Cantonese	3
  This subject introduces students to the linguistic structure of Cantonese including phonology, semantics and syntax in a principled manner. It enables students to make generalizations from complicated natural Cantonese data and utilize their language intuition to make logical judgment. The subject also develops students’ awareness and understanding of the socio-cultural aspects of the language to enhance their global outlook and appreciation of culture.
  CBS417	Varieties of Spoken Chinese	3
  This subject introduces students to the dialect system of Chinese. It aims to broader students’ knowledge and exposure to other varieties of spoken Chinese than Cantonese and Putonghua. At the dialect group level, they will be introduced to other dialect groups than the Yue and Guanhua/Northern groups, especially the more influential Wu and Min dialects and the locally available Kejia dialects. At the variety level, they will be introduced to the less prestigious dialects and accents of Yue and Guanhua.
  CBS418	Contrastive Rhetoric	3
  This subject attempts to acquaint the students with the major content of modern rhetorical studies from applied and comparative perspectives. Analysis will be mainly made on modern Chinese and English data, but examples in classical Chinese will also be covered. Through this subject, the students will not only learn the advanced creative aspects of language use, but will also investigate the rhetorical differences and compromises between Chinese and English in bilingual situations. Such considerations will not only help students to build on their knowledge of linguistic meaning and contextual use, but will also equip them with useful concepts and communicative tools in deepening their studies in their areas of specialization.
  CBS419	Project in Language Studies	6
  The subject serves as an arena for the students to demonstrate their ability to deal with relatively large scale academic undertakings and to integrate all they have learnt from language related elements of the programme by carrying out a project and producing a report and/or other products as appropriate under the guidance of a teacher as the supervisor. As different students have different choices of Area of Specialization and different combinations of elective subjects, the project also serves to demonstrate the varied orientation of different students.

  
  
  Table 3: Elective Subjects in Japanese Minor Offered by CBS
  
  

  Subject Code	Subject Title	No of Credits
  Japanese
  CBS206	Comprehensive Japanese for Business Interaction I	3
  CBS325	Comprehensive Japanese for Business Interaction II	3
  CBS476	Comprehensive Japanese for Business Interaction III	3
  CBS477	Comprehensive Japanese for Business Interaction IV	3
  CBS207	Office Communication in Japanese I	3
  CBS326	Office Communication in Japanese II	3
  CBS478	Accessing IT-mediated Japanese Business Texts	3
  CBS479	Japanese Communication in Multilingual Business Contexts	3

  
  
  Table 4: Elective Subjects Offered by the Department of English
  
  

  Subject Code	Subject Title	No of Credits
  Media Communication
  ENGL316	Computer-mediated Communication	3
  ENGL317	English for Technical and Web-based Writing	3
  ENGL318	English for the Media	3
  ENGL319	Fundamentals of Media Communication	3
  ENGL328	Research Methods for Language Studies	3
  ENGL401	English Texts and Image	3
  ENGL406	Case Studies in Professional Contexts	3
  ENGL408	Meaning in Professional Interaction	3
  ENGL424	Research Project	6
  Corporate Communication
  ENGL306	English for Public Relations and Marketing	3
  ENGL307	Fundamentals of Organizational Communication	3
  ENGL308	Understanding English Legal Texts	3
  ENGL309	Understanding English Scientific and Technical Texts	3
  ENGL328	Research Methods for Language Studies	3
  ENGL407	Intercultural Communicative Competence	3
  ENGL406	Case Studies in Professional Contexts	3
  ENGL408	Meaning in Professional Interaction	3
  ENGL424	Research Project	6
  Other Elective Subjects
  ENGL329	Approaches to Professional Language Training	3
  ENGL330	Course Development for Professional Language Training	3
  ENGL342	Materials Development for Professional Language Training	3
  ENGL345	Literature in English: An Introduction	3
  ENGL350	Psycholinguistics and Second Language Acquisition	3
  ENGL332	ESP: Translation	3
  ENGL366	Critical Language and Cultural Studies	3
  ENGL367	Language and Gender	3
  ENGL336	Discourse, Culture and Management	3
  ENGL337	Intercultural Communication in Business	3
  ENGL338	Intercultural Pragmatics in Business	3
  ENGL425	Language Assessment for Professional Purposes	3
  ENGL426	Special Topics in English Language Studies	3



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